He works in operations management for FedEx Ground in DuPont. He lives in North Bend.

“My daily one-way commute is 59.3 miles if I take I-90/Highway 18/I-5, and 70.7 miles if I break off Highway 18 at state Route 167 and take that to I-5,” he told The News Tribune in response to a request for commuters to share their stories.

Neither of those options sounds like a joyride to us.

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By June, Pierce closed median home sale price was at $317,000, while King was at $653,000.

This is not merely a King County real estate “creep.”

“It is appearing now more as a ‘surge’ from King County to the Key Peninsula as well,” said Rob Home, branch manager for Windermere Key Realty via email. “I would estimate that at least 50 percent of our sales are to folks from Kent, Renton, Tukwilla, etc. They are being priced out of those areas.”

There’s more to it than that, though.

“(Buyers from King County) can cash in on their increased equities there and buy here, where we are still at around $150 to $160 per square foot,” Home said. “Even Tacoma’s North End is running $250 to $300 per square foot.”

The land rush extends along state Route 16.

“As far as Port Orchard goes; they are feeling it, too,” noted Home.

An enhanced ferry system from Bremerton to Seattle now make Kitsap County a growing hot spot for those looking to buy and skip Interstate 5 or any of the other jammed highways.

May’s pending sales in Kitsap County, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service, rose 8.4 percent from a year ago, compared with a 2.6 percent decline in King County.

Even with Pierce County’s “bargain” housing prices, work of a certain income is needed. And that doesn’t appear to be here for half of those working and calling Pierce County home, so they’re hitting the road.

“Pierce County has more workers than jobs, but employers aren’t enjoying the benefits of the surplus,” according to a statement supplementing the WorkForce Central report online.

“Employers compete for qualified workers with Seattle and King County, where wages tend to be higher and brand name companies like Amazon, Microsoft and Boeing attract candidates due to perceptions around prestige and opportunities for advancement.”

According to the WorkForce Central report, Pierce County is home “to a larger share of the construction, trade, transportation and logistics industries than any other county” in the state.

Sumner can attest to that as it welcomed news of the Amazon warehouse, announced June 1.

“Jobs like this affect our entire region, supporting families and reducing the need for Pierce County residents to commute to King County,” Mayor Dave Enslow said in a statement at that time.

An employment forecast released June 2017 by state Employment Security Department show another 30,000 jobs added in King County through next year. Thousands of those are in the sciences and software industry: software developers, computer and math occupations, financial jobs and software developers.

THE COMMUTE CONTINUES

It’s one thing to complain or write reports about what Pierce County residents are experiencing as they try to get to and from work. It’s another to live it every day.

Erin McNeel commutes the 30-plus miles from Lacey to Sea-Tac Airport five days a week as a part-time employee with Delta Air Lines.

“I used to live in Fife but now that we work part-time we wouldn’t have much money left to live on after bills and rent,” she said in an email. “So, money keeps me from living closer.”

She leaves after 6 p.m. to get to her job by 8 p.m.

“The roughest part of the commute is Hawks Prairie on Sundays. If it’s backed up, it takes me about 20 minutes to go maybe four to five miles,” she said, adding that the going is slow near Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

In Thurston County, fewer workers — 2.5 percent — endured 90-plus minute commutes in 2015 as did in 2010 at 3.1 percent, the Census data show.

But remember, 35 percent of Thurston County workers head to their cubicles each day in either federal, state, or local government jobs after driving in from fairly close range, according to state Employment Security Department.

Of that, state jobs alone account for 23,100 full- and part-time jobs in the county or more than 18 percent of the county workforce.

WHAT EXPERTS ADVISE

If you’re one of those making the long haul every work day, maybe it’s time to rethink your life amid all this driving.

Subtracting work, sleep and commuting, the average person has about 60 hours each week of spare time, notes author Mike Lauesen, in his new book, “Getting Off the Treadmill: Escaping the Race to Nowhere.”

“Make the best use of your commute by focusing on driving and and learning,” he writes. “Examples may be listening to books on tape, a variety of podcasts to broaden your perspective and meditative sounds and music.”

Seattle-based Halley Bock, author of “Life, Incorporated: A Practical Guide to Wholehearted Living,” also makes the case that mindfulness matters.

“Any time we subject ourselves to situations where we have little to no control (such as commuting, doctor appointments, travel, etc) we should take care to ensure the best possible mindset before we enter the situation in order to prevent us from becoming emotionally hijacked by the actions (or inactions) of others,” she wrote The News Tribune in response to questions about coping with commuting.

“We become reactionary and easily upset because our happiness rests on the actions and decisions of others; we become the victims of a slow down, a distracted driver, someone cutting us off,” she wrote.

“It’s best to take a few deep breaths before setting off on the commute to consciously put the mind in a relaxed, receptive state. ... So when a driver cuts us off or traffic comes to a standstill, we can simply take a deep breath and choose to be in the flow of what is happening instead of trying to control it.”

What about a work-life balance, working in King County and living in Pierce County (or farther away)?

“If owning a home is important and the job situation cannot change, then staying in a situation like this for one to three years may be manageable,” Bock wrote.

“But after this time frame, look to switch the position to a blend of telecommuting and/or search for another vocation that provides closer proximity and/or the telecommuting options ... with adequate time off the road and with your family.”